Through the Rivalry, to You

Midnight Conversations

The Blue Lock training grounds were eerily silent at night, the usual hustle of the day replaced by a blanket of calm. The stars were faint above, barely visible through the glare of the distant floodlights. Isagi stood at the edge of the field, his breath misting in the cool air as he stretched, trying to work off the adrenaline from the day's match. Sleep wasn't an option, not with how the game had played out in his head on repeat.

Rin had gotten to him—again. Not just with his skill, but with the way he looked at him, like Isagi was both an obstacle and something worth noticing.

Isagi kicked at the grass beneath his feet, the echo of Rin's earlier voice still hanging in his mind. "Why do you keep getting in my way?" The words had felt heavier than they should have like there was something more buried in them.

He hadn't expected an answer to that question, but then again, he hadn't expected Rin to be here at all.

A soft rustle of footsteps made him turn. Standing a few feet away, Rin was there, his face bathed in the shadows of the overhead lights, his expression as unreadable as always. Isagi's pulse quickened—not from fear, but from the way Rin always seemed to draw something out of him, something he couldn't name.

"Couldn't sleep?" Rin's voice broke the silence, sounding softer than Isagi was used to. He wasn't looking at him directly, his gaze fixed on the empty field instead.

Isagi shrugged, trying to sound casual. "Something like that." He swallowed, the tension between them still palpable even without the game. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this midnight meeting than coincidence. Rin wasn't one for small talk, so why was he here?

The silence stretched on for a moment, both of them lingering in the unspoken weight of everything that had happened. Isagi shifted on his feet, feeling the need to break the tension, even though he wasn't sure how. "You too?"

Rin finally looked at him, his sharp gaze softened by the dim light. "I don't sleep much."

Isagi snorted, shaking his head. "Of course not." He didn't mean it as a jab, but Rin raised an eyebrow as if he'd taken it that way. Isagi waved it off, sighing. "No, seriously. I get it."

For a second, there was something—an almost imperceptible shift in Rin's expression, as though he was surprised that Isagi actually understood. They stood there, neither willing to leave but both unsure of what to say next. Isagi could feel his heart pounding again, but this time it wasn't from anger or adrenaline. It was from the proximity, the quiet, the way it felt like this moment was different from anything they'd shared on the field.

"What are you really doing out here?" Isagi asked, more to fill the silence than anything else. But as soon as he said it, he regretted the question. Rin didn't owe him anything. They were rivals, after all.

Rin's eyes narrowed slightly, but then he sighed, his posture relaxing just a fraction. "Thinking." His voice was quieter now, almost contemplative.

Isagi blinked, surprised by the honesty in that simple word. "About what?"

There was a long pause before Rin answered. "About why you keep getting in my way."

Isagi's breath hitched, his mind racing. He hadn't expected Rin to bring that up again, not like this. The way he said it now—without the biting edge, without the arrogance—made it feel like a real question, like Rin was searching for an answer just as much as Isagi was.

"I—" Isagi started, but the words caught in his throat. What could he say? That he couldn't stop thinking about Rin every time they faced off? That there was something about Rin that made him push harder, fight more fiercely than he ever had before? That maybe, just maybe, it wasn't just about winning anymore?